We are growing and changing every day. Everyone around us is changing, and the environment we live in is continually changing as well. And yet, we resist when it comes to organizational changes. According to McKinsey, 70% of organizational change initiatives fail due to employee resistance and lack of management. So, what goes wrong when an organization goes for a change and why do employees resist so much?
I explored this further with some of my friends who have gone through personal or professional changes recently and discussed why we resist org changes. And the response was surprisingly unanimous — employees are not the drivers of change in their organizations. When we are making changes in our lives, we know why we are doing it, what it means for us, what will change and what will continue as is. Clarity on all these aspects is crucial to embrace the change and is often missing during org changes.
From digging further into recent real-life examples and our learnings from change, these are four key points that can help employees embrace the change.
1. Emphasize what is not changing.
We often give babies teddy bears that they cuddle, love and associate their emotions with when we first transition them to preschool or day care. It's a significant change for the baby to be without their mother and to be surrounded by new faces. This teddy reminds them of home, gives them comfort and security, and helps them transition with the change. Teddy is something that the baby identifies from their home life with their parents.
Similarly, when we change the org, we should keep the core that employees identify with, and then emphasize that during the change. It gives people comfort and helps them through the transition.
2. Engage teams with impactful projects.
We recently went on the Star Wars Millennium Falcon ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is an interactive simulated flying ride, where what happens on the ride depends on your assigned position and the crew you fly with. To skip the line, I went on as a single rider, and perhaps you can imagine my experience — feeling overwhelmed and bored at the same time. On the other hand, my husband went on this ride with friends, and they had a great experience.
Change is an experience; how we react to it depends on what role we play and ensuring each team member has a role of their own. It becomes too stressful to do it all alone and too resistive for the ones who have to sit and watch from the sidelines.
3. Communicate effectively.
My grandmom's favorite historical leader was Indira Gandhi. I may have had numerous arguments with her on Ms. Gandhi's flaws, but my grandmom always maintained her stance and used to tell us the stories about Ms. Gandhi's frequent speeches through radio during the Indo-Pakistani war.
I learned from it that during times of despair and change, people look for open, direct and honest communication from their leader and expect them to give a thoughtful assessment of the situation — and the plans to address it. More importantly, they want to hear from them again and again for clarity, hope and motivation. At the time of change, leaders must communicate regularly with employees to help them learn from the source and avoid leaving them in the vacuum of grapevine.
4. Celebrate small wins.
Wins are a big motivation booster. We all feel excited when our favorite baseball team scores a run; it gives us hope as we can identify it as good progress toward the bigger goal of winning the game.
Similarly, after a significant org change, employees can become energized by a small win that feels like a step closer to a long-term goal. According to a study (paywall) published in Harvard Business Review, steps forward in work occurred on 76% of people’s best-mood days. Defining small wins and helping the team to achieve those wins can help employees see the values of the change initiative more clearly.
To overcome resistance to change, leaders must communicate what is changing, confirm that the core of the organization that defines who they are will remain the same, involve and engage the team with crucial projects, and communicate regularly on the progress.
